as in to wish
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable
the con man tried to pass off a piece of blue glass as a sapphire
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pass off
Think of Disney trying to pass off the 1,000th iteration of Marvel or Star Wars (just kidding) as something new.
—
Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2024
While those rallies and last Sunday’s passed off peacefully, at a campaign rally in Thuringia on Thursday, a man sprayed pink at BSW’s leader Sahra Wagenknecht.
—Carlo Angerer, NBC News, 31 Aug. 2024
Details regarding the closing ceremony remain under lock-and-key, but one detail that is known is that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will be passing off the Olympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
The siege of civilians and other war crimes must not be passed off in euphemisms.
—Annie Sparrow, Foreign Affairs, 11 Jan. 2017
See all Example Sentences for pass off 
Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2024
While those rallies and last Sunday’s passed off peacefully, at a campaign rally in Thuringia on Thursday, a man sprayed pink at BSW’s leader Sahra Wagenknecht.
—Carlo Angerer, NBC News, 31 Aug. 2024
Details regarding the closing ceremony remain under lock-and-key, but one detail that is known is that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will be passing off the Olympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
The siege of civilians and other war crimes must not be passed off in euphemisms.
—Annie Sparrow, Foreign Affairs, 11 Jan. 2017
See all Example Sentences for pass off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pass off
Verb
-
Given the number and variety of components provided, those wishing to extend their knowledge will find hundreds of suitable projects online.Bob Beacham, Popular Science, 22 Nov. 2024
-
This requires all who wish to support those directly affected by Helene, and others affected by the storms before and those to come, to consider long-term financial support for recovery solutions that strengthen communities in addition to immediate relief donations.Patricia McIlreavy, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Israel has regularly dropped 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound bombs on Lebanon, according to analysis of aftermath imagery by weapons experts, inflicting catastrophic damage to neighborhoods and towns.Allegra Goodwin and Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024
-
Apart from Bugatti, few great French cars ever came stateside, save perhaps the Citroën SM (whose model name suggests the pain that car can inflict on its long-suffering owner).Robert Ross, Robb Report, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
But the court found that narrow limits can be imposed to serve overriding state interests.Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Nov. 2024
-
Brazilian Supreme Court’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes imposed the ban, citing misinformation on X, which the judge felt was not adequately moderated on the platform.Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 20 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
And there’s an art to delegating, without seemingly palming off work to your team.Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2023
-
Giannoli’s narrator lays out press performance in Balzacian details that sound absolutely contemporary: News, debate, and ideas had become goods to palm off on subscribers.Armond White, National Review, 10 June 2022
Verb
-
But despite previous transparency around the cost-cutting measures, employees inquiring about how the budget cuts have impacted their performance review will now be fobbed off.Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2023
-
Most chose instead to fob off the hard decisions to central bankers.William Pesek, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2021
Verb
-
Even his tattoos are a conspicuous map of his touchstones: a portrait of Stevie Wonder, a hand palming a basketball printed with THE WORLD IS YOURS, an illustration related to the 1976 blaxploitation film The Human Tornado.Connor Garel, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
-
This is not Boban Marjanović fully palming Keanu Reeves’s head in John Wick 3.Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near pass off
Cite this Entry
“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20off. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share